Turkey says attacks on Aleppo a ‘crime against humanity’

ANKARA

DHA Photo

Turkey’s top security board has described the attacks carried out by the Syrian regime in Aleppo as “crimes against humanity,” while Ankara has intensified its dialogue with Russia to end the “tragedy” in Syria’s second largest city. 

The Turkish and Russian presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin, discussed the general situation in Aleppo and Syria in their third phone conversation in the last few days on Nov. 30. 

“It’s been underlined that the attacks carried out by the regime on civilian targets, including hospitals, have reached to the stage of crimes against humanity, which require immediate action,” said the statement issued by the National Security Council (MGK) after a six-hour meeting on Dec. 30. 

The MGK also discussed Turkey’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Aleppo. 

While the meeting was going on, Erdoğan and Putin talked over the phone and reviewed the situation in Syria. The conversation came after Erdoğan said Turkish troops were in Syria to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a statement that exasperated Moscow. 

The MGK statement also recalled Turkey’s commitment to its fight against all terror organizations, while calling on “some countries” to cease their support to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria. 

No ‘terror corridor’ will be allowed

The MGK also discussed the ongoing Euphrates Shield Operation, saying it had three objectives: Securing the Turkish border, preventing attacks on Turkey, and clearing all terrorist organizations from the region.  

“It has been underlined that the PKK/PYD-YPG’s target of establishing a terror corridor will not be allowed, in order to provide security for the Syrian people and our citizens, as well as to protect Syria’s territorial integrity,” it stated.   

The MGK stated that the PKK/PYD was working to establish a new headquarters in the Sinjar province of northern Iraq and reiterated its commitment to stop this “by all means necessary.”